It Happened at the Coliseum … on JANUARY 15th

4 years ago tonight (2011) - John Tavares recorded a natural hat trick in a 5:46 span of the second period as the Isles rallied from a 1-0 deficit and went on to defeat the Buffalo Sabres  5-3. The Isles improve to 5-1-2 in their last eight games at home as they end a three-game winless streak (0-2-1).

With the Isles trailing 1-0 on a Thomas Vanek goal, it was time for Tavares to take over, recording the first natural hat trick by an Islander since December 3, 2009 (Matt Moulson in Atlanta) and his second hat trick of the season and career. Moulson recorded the first three assist game of his career, assisting on all three tallies as he became the first Islander with three assists in a game this season. The trick gave Tavares eight goals in his last eight games and 18 goals on the season

“Getting a natural hat trick is always nice,” Tavares said. “We did a lot of things right.”

Howie and Butch have the highlights:

This was the 1500th regular season home game in Isles history (758-539-203); the 12,223 who attended were two more people than the 12,221 who attended the first home game in Isles history (10-7-1972).

Also on this date: (1983) – John Tonelli recorded the final hat trick of his career as the Isles beat Los Angeles 5-2.

All-time, the Isles have played fourteen January 15th games at the Coliseum and finish with 6-7-1 record on this date at 1255 Hempstead Turnpike in Uniondale.